Late afternoon session, Day 11 (Day 7 of testimony), Danny Masterson retrial
Cohen: You have a vivid memory of the gun.
JD1: The way I described it, yes.
Etched in your memory, prominent.
Yes.
It was really, really scary.
Yeah.
The gun was held at eye level?
Well, I could see it. I didn't have to move or adjust.
And he said, don't fucking move, don’t fucking say anything
That's correct.
And your takeaway was if you moved or said anything you would be shot?
No.
The gun goes at some point back in the drawer.
Correct
And then you reached for the gun?
I reached for it.
And if you got it you would shoot him?
That's what was in my head.
When you spoke to Schlagel, you wanted to tell him everything that was prominent? (Asked and answered) Did you tell Schlagel that Masterson had pointed a gun at you?
I described the gun and what the church told me.
Did you tell Schlagel that Masterson had pointed a gun at you.
I said he grabbed a gun and I saw it. I said I saw him grab a gun when the banging at the door started, and he put it back.
You never told Schlagel the pointing of the gun?
I don't think so. I know how the conversation went and what he did next.
You never told him that you reached for a gun?
No, I did tell him that.
Have you ever reviewed his report?
You showed me an excerpt one time.
You've never reviewed his report?
Not the full one. I saw an injury report he took instead of a rape report.
Schlagel wrote a 6-page report, you've never reviewed it? (Asked and answered, you can show it to her.)
(Cohen shows her the report.)
Some of it is cut off on the left side. (She shows it to him, going over some details. Cohen shows it to Mueller. Your honor there is a stipulation proposed, that the Schlagel report is a true and correct copy produced to the defense by the DA's office.)
So my question is, you have never reviewed this report.
Not that one, the one where he said I wasn't speaking English.
The Schlagel report that was taken on June 6, 2004, you've previously reviewed.
Correct.
Does Schlagel make any reference of any kind to a gun?
He does not in that injury report.
Two days after that you spoke to Det Myers. Did you mention to her Masterson had a gun?
I don't believe she asked me.
My question is different. Did you mention to her that he had a gun.
I don't recall a conversation with her. Not that it didn't happen, but I don't have a recollection with her.
But you would have told her everything that was prominent to her?
I would tell everything prominent the best effort I could.
Did you ever tell Ofc Schlagel about an injury to your hand reaching into the drawer?
Yes.
Is there any reference to it in his report?
I haven't seen it in a long time.
Your memory as to what happened the following day. You talked about Masterson raping you the night of April 24-25 2003, and then at some point you wake up later on April 25, 2003. Is your memory of what happened when you woke up clear?
No.
Was your memory when you woke up ever clear?
No.
And is your memory of when you woke up not clear today?
Not clear today.
Have you previously testified that when you woke up the next day, Masterson was not there?
I may have.
Would it help to refresh...
When, the testimony was?
October 2022.
I believe that's correct.
Correct that you testified when you woke up he was not there.
Correct.
And you didn't make anything up.
Correct.
When you interviewed with Reyes in 2017, did you say when I woke up Masterson was gone?
I don't recall saying that with her. I wasn't being interviewed for charges. I was just a witness. It was an informal thing.
Would it help to refresh your recollection what you told Reyes and Viegas in 2017?
Maybe.
(Shows her a transcript.) Does that help refresh your recollection?
Not distinctly. But I would expand on that interview more.
My question is this, did you tell Det Reyes and Viegas that when you woke up in the closet Masterson was gone and it was daylight now.
I don't believe so.
In that same proceeding, October 2022, did you indicate that now you remembered that Masterson was there when you woke up?
In that proceeding when I saw a report that when I opened my eyes I saw his face, it was the next day and he was there. I hadn't reviewed that in years, and it was true. I didn't have a memory and I didn't say that until I saw that and it refreshed my recollection.
So for approximately 20 years, you did not have memory that when you woke up, he wasn't there?
I remembered his voice waking me up. I guess I just blanked that out.
Anything else you blanked out? (Obj, sustained). When you spoke to Det Myers, did you tell that detective that when you woke up the day after, Masterson was in bed with you? (Asked and answered. She said the first time she remembered was October 2022.) Is it your position that from April 25, 2003 until October 2022, at no time during that period did you ever remember that Masterson was in bed with you when you woke up.
Some time from 2003 to 2023 I blanked out that he was standing next to me, not in bed with me. I lost that part of it. I didn't make it up, I didn't remember that part of him being close to me, post-rape.
I asked you earlier about the observation you made about Ms. Podberesky.
OK.
I just want to be very clear on the words that you used with Ms. Anson. My understanding is on Friday, you told Ms. Anson that Ms. Podberesky had done something with her hair and made motions that made you uncomfortable.
Actually your question was, had I brought her up and I said I had. And then you asked you very specifically if I had waited until Monday to say about the head flip And I said absolutely not. Because on Sunday I had texted them and detailed what she had done.
On Friday what did you tell Mss. Anson she had done?
I had a problem that she was sitting there and we checked, and then she wasn't in the courtroom. And it bothered me all weekend and I wanted to tell them and I wrote a message on Sunday.
Did you tell Anson on Friday that you were uncomfortable with her.
There's a woman Rosario, and I was having a panic, I don't know what to do. Vicki Podberesky is sitting right there and I had a problem with it and I was telling my advocates. and I wanted them to know and I didn't want to wait.
But you wanted until Sunday (Stricken).
Did you make any mention to Ms. Anson on Friday of any physical activity, distracting, hair, stare from you to Ms. Anson regarding Ms. Podberesky? Any time on Friday.
I don’t remember any physical movement, I was telling her that she was distracting and they said she wasn't in the courtroom anymore.
After we left court on Friday and any time Friday or before Sunday before you sent this text, did you talk to any attorney.
Yes. I have a Marsy's Law attorney. I asked him to appear before Olmedo and I didn't know how to go about it. I reached out to him this weekend.
And you have a civil attorney in regards to a civil lawsuit against Scientology, David Miscavige, and Danny Masterson.
Yes. I didn't ask for this to come into this courtroom. I just asked that she not be there.
Now, during the rape on April 24-25, 2003, you indicated that at some point Danny had started choking you, correct?
Grabbing by the throat and squeezed.
Strangled you.
That's not a word I would use. He grabbed me by the throat until everything went black and his face was the last thing I saw. I wouldn’t say strangled.
Fair to say you were concerned about your health status after choking out and unconscious.
When I thought I was going to die, yeah.
Well, later, after the injuries you sustained after this choking.
I thought I mentioned these dots.
Did you ever tell Schlagel about the dots?
I don't know.
Given the injuries, did you have concerns about your medical condition?
I had concerns about something else.
Did you have concerns about your medical condition.
I must have had some. I wasn't bleeding out and I wasn't unable to function.
Did you see a doctor before you went to Florida?
I did not.
You were in Florida seven to ten days, did you see a doctor while you were there?
I did not.
When you got to Florida, early morning of April 26, 2003. Do you have a recollection of having had sex with Danny?
No. That's not the word I would use.
Do you have a recollection of him raping you?
Yes.
So when you land in Florida, you realized he raped you?
I knew I didn't give consent and I tried to stop it.
When you woke up the next day after the rape and you remember now that Danny was there. Did you and Danny have a conversation as to what you were going to tell Luke Watson who was downstairs?
No, you showed me that report and I had zero idea when I woke up, even how I got there.
Did you and Danny have a discussion when you woke up about what the two of you were going to tell Luke?
No.
When you get to Florida, you realized that Danny had used force against you?
Yes.
And you start to see bruises forming "everywhere" on your body.
All over, I mean I wasn't black and blue all over my body, but they were everywhere.
When you spoke to Reyes in 2017, did you tell her, "I don't know why I hurt, I'm covered in bruises everywhere?"
I could have said that. I know what he did to my vagina and I'd been sitting in a tub. It took days to get all of the, I didn't understand what was on my neck, I thought it was leukemia.
You mean the dots?
Yeah.
You had a conversation with Danny over the phone while you're in Florida.
Correct.
And you knew that he had raped you.
Yes.
Do you recall the conversation with Danny with you asking him what happened and he responded I take it you don't remember?
Yes.
Was your response no?
That's how I remembers, I said no. i would have indicated to him, I needed him to tell me.
Do you remember telling Reyes, he said I take it you don't remember, and you said no.
I might have said that.
And he said we had sex and you said no, no, no.
It's the same words, but not the way you said, (emotional), I said NO, NO, NO YOU'RE LYING, I didn't want what he said to be the truth.
(Cohen brings up the two photos of her in the bikini, one with the waiter, one with her cousin Rachel.) When you were in Florida, your pain level was 10 out of 10.
Yes.
You had bruises all over your body (asked and answered) What did your grandfather's injuries look like.
The size of a tangerine on his head, that's what he was bleeding out from. He had bruises on his arms, on his legs, and on his hands. He had fallen and fallen again at the pool area by our house.
And he looked significantly injured I assume.
Yeah.
You indicated the injuries you had in Florida appeared visually even worse than what your grandfather had. And because of your injuries you stayed inside during the day. (Asked and answered -- not asked by me, Cohen says.)
Judge Cohen dismisses the jury until 9:30 tomorrow morning.
Cohen has stipulation for the jury. "On Friday, JD1 indicated to Dep DA Anson and a DA rep that she was uncomfortable with Scientology attorney Vicki Podberesky in the courtroom. JD1 asked, why is she here, and on Friday she did not tell them about the hair flip or scowl."
She tells the jury to go to the jury room, and the deputies will escort them out later. (They were in the jury room for lunch, and are being escorted out at the end of the day, apparently a result after yesterday's incident in the hallway.)
Judge: Mr. Cohen, the court is sustaining its own asked-and-answered, I know it's your style... She points out that the witness has been on the stand for 2.5 days now. She cites case law about the limits to cross-examination. The court will give you 45 minutes more tomorrow morning and no more for cross. After that very limited redirect and recross.
Cohen: Your honor I wasn't trying to violate a court order. Can we take up a separate issue. It concerns the statement labeled False Report Report, one of the three documents that JD1 submitted to Schlagel, attachments to his police report. Yesterday on direct, JD1 had testified that she had read Masterson's report and he had said things in there where he concurred in part with what she was saying but disagreed with other things, but reading that report then led her to take further steps and going to the LAPD. Number two, on examination today, when I asked her how much she had to drink, she volunteered that reading Masterson's report, she was clear how she had to drink on Apr 25, 2003. I believe under a few different evidence code -- 356 -- JD1 relied upon the Masterson report that he concurred with some and disagreed with some. Not elicited by me. that allows the full statement to come in. Number two she said reading the report gave her clarification on how much she had to drink. She also made mention of things that are not in the report, so I think it comes in as impeachment. Her reference to that document is simply incorrect.
Judge: Evidence code is clear. She says Cohen can't bring in his own client's statement. And for the doctrine of completeness, you can bring it in to clarify the issue. So you can't use the number of drinks to bring in whether he felt the sex was consensual or not. The whole statement is not necessary to clarify how many drinks she had. The fact that you did not object at the time, doesn't mean you can bring it in for impeachment purpose. Doesn't mean the court now has to bring it in. The court finds it to hearsay, and to bring in an exculpatory statement that would not be otherwise admitted.
Cohen says it goes to JD1's state of mind that is admissible.
Judge: I don't know if always want to have the last word.... (She cites case law.) Every time I make a ruling, you want to clarify, you want to make a comment. you made your objection, i ruled, please stop commenting. I understand you don't like that. I've made my ruling, you've made your record. We're in recess, 9:30.
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I don’t understand, why is the whole Podberesky thing such a big deal? Cohen is all over the place trying to confuse JD1, he’s confusing me! Trying to impeach JD1 on things she doesn’t remember, what’s his goal in doing that?
Can't help but comparing Cohen badgering the witness to the other attorney badgering E Jean Carroll, very similar. If I were on either of those juries I think this kind of harassment from the defendant's attorney would make me more sympathetic to the victim.